In April 2016, an open letter was sent out calling on all institutions to strengthen their efforts to address the underrepresentation within the program of members of the four designated groups (women, Aboriginal Peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities). As a follow-up to this, the program is providing the updates below.
15th-year evaluation: Recommendation on equity
In July 2016, the Steering Committee approved the 15th year evaluation report. The full report and management response will be available in fall 2016 on the program’s publications page. Until then, the committee wishes to share a recommendation from the evaluation:
Management should require institutions to adopt greater transparency in their processes for allocation of Chair positions and selection and renewal of chairholders, in order to ensure institutions have greater accountability in terms of meeting their equity targets.
The Steering Committee agrees with this recommendation, and has made the following decision:
That the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat be mandated to work with the Management Committee, using the evaluation findings and considering other input received, to develop a strategy to promote adherence to equity targets by universities, in collaboration with the CRCP Advisory Committee on Equity Policy, as soon as possible.
Making public equity target data
In the spirit of openness and transparency, the program has published information on the method that institutions use to set equity targets. Aggregate results of its target-setting exercise are also now available (i.e., the equity targets and gaps of participating universities aggregated by institution size: small, medium and large).
The equity targets and gaps of each participating institution will be posted (in consideration of the Privacy Act) in the coming weeks.
Advisory Committee on Equity Policy Membership (ACEP)
The committee membership for ACEP has been updated. Program management would like to thank the members of ACEP for their ongoing support in implementing the program’s equity efforts.
Advertisements for Chair Positions
All institutions must follow the program’s guidelines for ensuring a fair and transparent recruitment and nomination process. They must openly advertise Chair positions, and include a statement of their commitment to equity in the nomination and appointment process. This applies to new Chairs (both Tier 1 and Tier 2) and the advancement of a Tier 2 chairholder to a Tier 1 Chair.
Institutions must also follow the program’s guidelines to ensure that the language relating to eligibility for Tier 2 Chairs in all their advertisements is neither misleading nor exclusionary. Advertisements must encourage all eligible candidates to apply. They must also acknowledge the Tier 2 justification process as a means for assessing the eligibility of potential applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree but who have experienced career interruptions due to maternity or parental leave, extended sick leave, clinical training and/or family care.
The Secretariat is actively monitoring institutions’ postings to ensure that they meet these requirements. Institutions will need to modify their postings in cases where they do not follow the guidelines.